Class Improvements for NPCs

[Batty]

Hello Afkmods. I've been following and using Unofficial Patches ever since I discovered mods, and one of my favorite changes the mods implement is the class changes to NPCs. It makes their preferred choice of equipment more sensible, and allows them to realize their potential better. It also provides an extra bit of challenge when it is done on NPCs that you fight during quests. So far I only know two of such: Galmar and Arnbjorn. So my post is about NPCs that can be improved with some class changes, with my focus being on NPCs that you fight during a quest.

 

MAJOR FIXES

 

Npc Name: Safia

Id: 13267

Associated Quest: DBSideContract12

Problem: The last contract of the Dark Brotherhood, Safia, has the CombatNightblade class, which means that she's supposed to be a caster/fighter, but she is given no spells to go with her high destruction skill. Not only does this class lower the skills she actually uses (one-handed, light armor, block etc.), it also distributes attribute points to magicka, which lowers her health and stamina. All in all, she does not live up to the hype of her supposed badassery, and unless you fight her at level 18 or so, which makes the level gap between you and her the biggest, she is easily dispatched.

Suggestion: Changing her class to CombatRogue would increase all of the skills she uses and allow her to make better use of her scaled armor and one-handed sword, while keeping her sneak high, which I believe affects the detection of NPCs, all the while keeping the immersion of the character. Alternatively, you could give her basic spells such as Flames, however her combat style would have to be changed as well, since it is csHumanBoss1H.

 

 

Npc Name: Champion of Boethiah

Id: 834FE

Associated Quest: DA02

Problem: Champion of Boethiah uses the Forsworn template which promotes skills like Destruction, Light Armor and Sneak, all of which he makes no use of, as he has full Ebony Armor with a shield, and his combat style is csHumanBoss1H.

Suggestion: Honestly, I am not sure. His Forsworn template gives him pretty good perks, and a high level cap, but at the same time makes the skills he actually uses stay pretty low. I don't think there's a way to change the class to something like CombatWarrior1H without changing the template itself. Maybe changing the template to DraugrMelee or DremoraMelee could work. Bandit1H can also do, however that would lower his level cap about 20 levels. I leave it to your capable hands.

 

 

Npc Name: Haknir Death-Brand

Id: 0301A373

Associated Quest: DLC2dunHaknirTreasureQST

Problem: Haknir is a unique boss, in that he has his own fun little quest, and his class is custom made just for him. The problem with his class is he is given a weight of 4 in Heavy Armor but the Death-Brand armor he uses is a high class light armor. He also seems to have a perk that boosts his armor (Deathbrand Instinct) and a shout that increases his attack speed (DLC2dunHaknirBuff) that was cut out.

Suggestion: Assigning his points to light armor should fix this. As for the perks, I don't know if it is the Official Patches job to implement cut out content like the Civil War Overhaul so you guys decide.

 

 

Npc Name: Vendil Severin

Id: 03018284

Associated Quest: DLC2RR02

Problem: Vendil Severin is given DremoraMelee class which actually goes well with the Chitin Heavy Armor he dons during his quest, however the problem arises when you look at his perks. He has a lot of perks for Light Armor such as Agile Defender60, Custom Fit, and Deft Movement which implies that he was supposed to be given Light Armor. His partners in crime Tilisu and Mirri get Morag Tong Armor, which gives even more proof to this theory.

Suggestion: Change his class to a class that focuses on Light Armor and One-handed skills such as BanditMelee, Assassin, and Rogue. Tilisu and Mirri both have the BanditMelee class. Also change his gear to Chitin Light Armor, or Morag Tong Armor.

A small note: Perks like Custom Fit and Deft Movement is useless on a lot of NPCs who are not followers since they don't wear helmets. I don't know (since I know very little about modding) if you guys could fix it for NPCs, like make it so that only 3 pieces of armor are needed for the perk to be active, or maybe give them invisible matching helmets, but I know we can blame Bethesda's lazy designs.

Note 2: Assassin class interestingly has points in Alteration and Magicka even though no NPC in the game with the Assassin class uses any SPELLS. Maybe that could be fixed too.

 

 

Npc Name: Bujold the Unworthy

Id: 0301A511

Associated Quest: DLC2MH01 and DLC2MH02

Problem: You fight Bujold and her group either with the Rieklings as part of the Chief of Thirsk Hall quest or one-on-one at the end of Retaking Thirsk quest. Her default gear is full Leather Armor but her class is DremoraMelee which doesn't put any points into Light Armor. Also, her combat style is Default.

Suggestion: Changing her class to BanditMelee would solve her issue. Making it CombatRogue could be a little more specific but it wouldn't really fit her character, considering she is not really an assassin or someone who is supposed to be sneaky. Her combat style could be changed into csHumanBoss1H or csHumanMelee at whatever level you like.

 

 

Npc Name: Ralis Sedarys

Id: 030179C7

Associated Quest: DLC2dunKolbjornQST

Problem: Ralis' own unique class assigns 2 points to Magicka, even though he knows no spells and has no proficiency in any magic skills. He also has some redundant perks like Impact and Regeneration too, but it is not really a problem.

Suggestion: Change his Health/Stamina/Magicka ratio from 2/1/2 to 3/2/0.

 

 

Npc Name: Isran

Id: 0200336A

Associated Quest: DLC1RV10

Problem: Isran is a Master level Heavy Armor trainer. His class was fixed for Farkas in previous patches. However, Isran wears the Light Armor version of Dawnguard Armor. He also has the Custom Fit perk. He has some weapon perks but none for the weapon he actually uses: warhammer.

Suggestion: Give him the heavy version of brown Dawnguard Armor. Change Custom Fit to Well Fitted. And finally change his sword perks (Bladesman30 and Deep Wounds30) to hammer perks (BoneBreaker30 and Skullcrusher30), since it would make sense for him to be proficient with hammers and axes as those are the weapons the Dawnguard uses.

 

 

Npc Name: Celann

Id: 0201541E

Associated Quest: DLC1RV10

Problem: His gear was fixed for his class in the patch before, but he still has the Custom Fit perk for Light Armor.

Suggestion: Change Custom Fit to Well Fitted.

 

 

Npc Name: Mercer Frey

Id: 0001B07C

Associated Quest: TG08B

Problem: Mercer, for some reason, has the perk HackAndSlash30 for the war axes, even though he uses a sword. He also suffers from the same inactive Custom Fit problem from above. He also has a useless CriticalShot30 perk even though he never uses any bow during combat.

Suggestion: Change HackAndSlash30 into Bladesman30 for consistency.

 

 

MINOR FIXES

 

Npc Name: Commander Maro

Id: 0001D4B5

Associated Quest: DB11

Problem: He wears Penitus Oculatus Armor which is Light Armor, however his class CombatWarrior2H is proficient with Heavy Armor.

Suggestion: His class can be changed to CombatBarbarian. However this can also be overlooked as unlike other NPCs, his gear is not his own preferred gear and it is chosen due to his faction and official duty, and it would not make too much sense for him to be a Barbarian.

 

 

Npc Name: Gaius Maro

Id: 00044050

Associated Quest: DB06

Problem: Same as above, only with CombatWarrior1H.

Suggestion: Same as above.

 

 

Npc Name: Vald

Id: 00072B04

Associated Quest: TG07

Problem: For some reason Vald has a perk called crNerfDamage05 that is actually named Extra Damage 1,5 but instead halves the damage.

Suggestion: Don't know if this is a real problem so I leave the decision to you.

 

 

Npc Name: Shavari

Id: 0006C868

Associated Quest: MQ202

Problem: This is really insignificant but her class CombatMageElemental really doesn't go with how she tries to kill you or what her profession is. I'm just including her for completion's sake.

Suggestion: Change into CombatAssassin.

 

 

Npc Name: Ritual Master

Id: 000284F2

Associated Quest: MS06Start

Problem: Her combat style is Default which I believe causes her to be a little too punch-happy for a mage.

Suggestion: Change her combat style to csWarlock.

 

 

Npc Name: Malyn Varen

Id: 00028AD3

Associated Quest: DA01

Problem: Default combat style.

 

 

Npc Name: Chief Yamarz

Id: 0003BC26

Associated Quest: DA06

Problem: Default combat style.

 

 

Npc Name: Eola

Id: 0001990F

Associated Quest: DA11

Problem: She has csHumanMissile for her combat style even though she is a Nightblade and has no skill in Archery.

 

 

Npc Name: Rulindil

Id: 00039F1F

Associated Quest: MQ201

Problem: Default combat style.

 

 

VOLKIHAR VAMPIRES

Associated Quest: DLC1VQ08

 

 

They all have the lowest level vampiric drain spell.

They all have the csVampireMelee1H combat style, even the magic users.

Also for some reason, all magic users have the crNerfDamage05 perk.

 

 

For specific NPCS:

Fura Bloodmouth

02003363

Heavy Armor class with Light Armor gear. Although this could be considered a faction uniform case like Commander Maro.

 

 

Orthjolf

02003361

Has a class that levels magic skills like Destruction and Conjuration up, even though he states that he hates Elves and magic. Maybe a class change into BanditMelee.

 

 

Modhna

02011E5E

Has a class that levels Heavy Armor and Two-handed even though she uses Light Armor and a One-handed weapon. The armor is faction specialty, but her weapon could be changed to BanditWeapon2H.

 

 

Npc Name: Vanik

Id: 02003D03

Associated Quest: DLC1VQ03Vampire

Problem: He has TrainerHeavyArmorMaster class even though he uses Dawnguard Light Armor and a one-handed weapon.

Suggestion: Change his class into BanditMelee. That is the class of the Hunter template in the first place.

 

 

Npc Name: Mogrul

Id: 0301959A

Associated Quest: DLC2TT1b

Problem: His class heavily favors Two-handed skill yet he uses a one-handed war axe.

Suggestion: Change his EnchOrcishWarAxeAbsorbH04 to EnchOrcishBattleaxeAbsorbH04.

 

 

Npc Name: Ildari Sarothril

Id: 0301773B

Associated Quest: DLC2TT2

Problem: She has the Impact perk but she doesn't have the Destruction Dual Casting perk.

Suggestion: Add Destruction Dual Casting perk.

 

 

NORDS OF THIRSK MEAD HALL

Associated Quest: DLC2MH02

 

Elmus

0301A51A

He has the DremoraMelee class even though he wears full Hide Armor. Change the class into BanditMelee, the same as Bujold. Also same as Bujold, his combat style is Default.

 

 

Halbarn Iron-Fur

0301A51C

Halbarn is the only one whose Dremora class is useful as he uses a Nordic Warhammer with Steel Armor. His only change could be to his Default combat style.

 

 

Hilund

0301A515

Same as Elmus.

 

 

Kuvar

0301A518

Kuvar's class cannot be changed as he is a Master level Heavy Armor trainer. Perhaps his Hide Armor and Boots can be changed to its Heavy counterpart - Iron Armor. Also his Nordic War Axe could be changed into a Nordic Battleaxe. He also has the Default combat style.

 

 

That is all. I made this post since you guys seem to do these kind of changes to increase efficiency and I wanted to contribute. I'm assuming these are fairly simple to implement, at least compared to some quest fixes and stuff like that (*cough* Blood on the Ice *cough*). Anyway, hope this will be helpful.

[lmstearn]

 

Hi Batty, welcome to AKK1

Don't usually have much to say on these things, but here goes:

• Safia: CombatNightblade class but maybe it's intended his disposition is more toward sword than sorcery?
  
• Champion of Boethiah: We might say his alloted armor and combat overrides the other atrributes.
  

• Haknir Death-Brand: What is his HA weight of 4? Do you mean skill of 40? An NPC having both both heavy and light armor skills is part of their makeup. Or flaw. Intended.
  
• Vendil Severin: Has conflicting atributes. That's his fatal flaw.
  
• Bujold the Unworthy: Worthy of the BanditMelee class? Is the default gear the same as the gear she wears in combat i wonder?
  
• Celann: Good idea
  
• Mercer Frey: Agree
  
• Commander Maro &  Gaius Maro: Interesting: edge cases methinks.
  
• Vald: crNerfDamage05 is a "cursed" version of extra damage. Intended.
  
• Shavari: Another flawed character.
  
• Ritual Master: Feisty Mage o' The_Bunch_o'_Fives. Sounds good.
  
• Orthjolf: Perfect. Hates magic including his own.
  

All excellent suggestions for NPC enhancement mods, maybe this one has some of these addressed?

[Batty]

Hello Imstearn, thanks for the warm welcome

 

I have stayed away from mods like ERSO so far because they usually add or change arbitrary things about NPCs, like adding new classes or perks or spells. The class changes USKPs have made so far was keeping in touch with the vanilla spirit of the game. They only made the skills NPCs use much more effective.

As for those individual NPCs:

• Safia's disposition is definitely toward sword, as her combat style shows, however she doesn't know any spell at all. It doesn't make too much sense for her to remain a Nightblade when she doesn't use her main skill (Destruction) and any magicka. It is essentially the same change as Galmar's (From a class that favors HA+1H to LA+2H)
• Champion of Boethiah is a little shaky. I just pointed out that his class isn't very efficient for his gear.
• HA weight of 4 means for every level he gains, his HA skill goes up by 8*(4/9). However his LA stays the same measly 20. That means he never makes efficient use of his Deathbrand Armor, and it is probably an oversight by Bethesda (probably because they thought of making Deathbrand Armor a Heavy Armor in the first drafts)
• Vendil's DremoraMelee class is probably an oversight by Bethesda as well, since it is the default class given to NPCs, and his intended class was never given. His given light armor perks just support this idea.
• Yes, Bujold's default gear is her combat gear. For proof:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I1SPc5lx5o​

 

 I am still waiting for the word of god from @Arthmoor. I understand he's quite busy with the version 3.0.2. Hopefully he will respond soon.

[Arthmoor]

Safia: Probably a valid case. No spells and a combat style that doesn't match a mage. Combined with the fact that she self identifies as a pirate means CombatRogue seems like what she should have been set for.

Champion of Boethiah: I don't see any reason to change this one. Selecting a Forsworn Boss seems like an awfully deliberate decision on someone's part.

Haknir Death-Brand: A case can probably be made that the 4 points should have gone into light armor, but I think he's high level enough and his armor powerful enough that I doubt anyone would notice the difference anyway. As for his missing perks, that would be territory more appropriate for Cutting Room Floor.

Vendil Severin: EncClassDremoraMelee is the default selection for a new NPC, so it appears they simply forgot to set this one. The CombatRogue class appears to be closest to the perk selection they chose, and his outfit should definitely be set to match that.

Bujold the Unworthy: There's nothing inherently wrong with her configuration as-is, so we see no reason to change it.

Ralis Sedarys: No reason to change anything on him.

Isran: Will have to get back to you on that. Seems like an awful lot of stuff to change.

Celann: Yep, that should get addressed.

Mercer Frey: I don't think his stuff really needs to get messed with. He's lethal enough as it is.

Mogrul: Yep, probably needs the 2H version of the axe instead.

As for fixing perks to work with 3 items on NPCs, that's out of scope for what we're doing. If the NPC isn't taking advantage of it, that's on them for deciding not to be fully equipped before going into battle.

Honestly, and this is just me, most of the stuff you listed are things that are unlikely to produce much of a difference. The ones we've done in the past are much more glaring examples of problems, and you've found at least a couple more that we should fix, but I don't see any reason to make so many changes to all of this stuff for what are mostly minor characters that aren't that likely to engage in combat on a regular basis.

 

Oh, and in future, it would be greatly appreciated if things like this don't end up in bulk copied to the bug tracker - that's not the place to have this discussion. Each NPC should get its own entry for those we decide probably need it.

[Batty]

First of all, thank you for taking the time.

 

I am sorry about the tracker, I just thought I had to add an issue to bring this to light. I won't be doing that again.

 

As for these changes not making huge differences, I am aware of that. While none of these changes will make an npc from a wimp into a killing machine, it will bring about a more complete game in the end. And I believe that is the whole point of the Unofficial Patches in the first place. Perhaps "class improvements" implies a buff to them; I should have chosen "class corrections" as my title.

 

For the NPCs:

 

Haknir Death-Brand: Having a LA skill of 100 instead of 20 increases his damage resistance about 120% (at least according to UESP: http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Light_Armor ). 2.2x the armor rating. That is a pretty big difference in my opinion. Besides it just seems weird that the developers would give this particular NPC a special class just to assign useless skill points to HA. It also makes sense for a pirate to be proficient with light armor, instead of the clunky heavy armor.

 

Bujold: The same as Haknir. 120% damage resistance difference. Also I think she (and many other NPCs, such as Skaal villagers for example) suffers from the above-mentioned default EncClassDremoraMelee oversight. It is weird that they would give the Dremora class to someone who is not... well, Dremora. Especially for a leveled NPC that has more uses than just being a background character that increases the immersion of a setting.

 

Ralis: I think a similar change has been made to Delphine, where her class was redone to suit her combat style better. Ralis doesn't know any spells and those are wasted magicka points that could go into health. However, he might have just decided to increase his magicka without any plans to use it, like you can do as the player character. I would like input from other users on this as well.

 

Mercer: Honestly, I included Mercer for the sake of completion. I think he's a badass and the best antagonist of any questline in the game, so I didn't want to leave him out. Also, I don't think giving him a rank 1 Bladesman would make that much of a difference in terms of lethality, just complete his character as a whole.

 

You mentioned the changes you've done in the past, but most of those changes have been to followers, whose incorrect gears could be easily corrected by giving them weapons and armor they are proficient with. The only ones that don't fit that profile is Galmar and Arnbjorn, and if you think about it, when you fight Galmar, even if he has been buffed to Ebony Warrior levels, you have two essential NPCs to tank the damage for you. So I always thought that it is not an issue of fixing NPCs with vital errors, and leaving the ones with non-vital errors out, but an issue of making their gear and classes sensible. Also, I believe the fact that these guys are not regularly fought necessitates these kind of changes even more. They are essentially unique boss battles, and I believe should offer a full experience of challenge for the players.

 

Anyway, thanks again for taking the time. And I hope to see more opinions from the community as well.